Chapter 36
Somewhere in his subconscious noises were filling his ears. He felt two hands gripping his arms and suddenly he was pulled upright which made his head spin. He almost fell back on the ground again, but he was held back by two arms.
"The boss beat him up pretty bad."
"Not only the boss."
Laughing filled the room, making his ears ring. Why couldn't they just leave him alone, didn't they know he was tired? He was so God damn tired. Every part of his body seemed to ache. He couldn't even breathe properly.
He suddenly got hit in his face, the blow throwing him against the wall.
Brendan slowly opened his eyes. He had the feeling that his eyes were glued together. He tried to focus his eyes on something, but it all stayed a big blur.
"Look, he wakes up," said a voice, which sounded foreign.
"Yeah you idiot, I can see that," said another voice, this one closer to Brendan.
"Wake up, Brady. We've got some news for ya."
Brendan tried to say something, but his throat was bone-dry.
The man in front of him started to laugh, making his head pound. "Did he cut out your tongue too?"
"Go to hell," Brendan growled between his teeth.
"I think you're going first, mate."
Brendan shrugged his shoulders with a little effort. They didn't tell him anything he didn't already know.
"Tell him then."
The man in front of Brendan turned his head and looked at the other man with an irritated expression on his face: "I will. Just let me handle this."
"Tell me what?" Brendan growled, his eyes focused on the man who stood some feet away from him.
"You're coming with us," the man said bluntly.
"Ed, what did I just tell ya?!" the man in front of Brendan growled dangerously at the other man.
The other man, Ed, whispered an apology under his breath.
Brendan smiled sinister: "Why? Did your boss finally decide to kill me?"
"Kill ya?" said the foreigner. "O no, our boss isn't done with ya yet. You're gonna say goodbye to your boyfriend."
"Shut up, you idiot."
Brendan balled his hands into fists and hissed: "What are ye gonna do to him?"
"Who says we're gonna do anything to him? We've got what we wanted, so the boss ordered to let him go."
Brendan's eyes flickered from one to the other, trying to figure out if they were telling him the truth, but he got none the wiser.
"Come on, let's get him up."
Brendan felt two arms under his armpits and he was lifted off the ground.
xXx
Ste's heartbeat accelerated and his hands grabbed the man's arm. He couldn't breathe, he didn't get any air. Ste struggled to loosen the grip of the man's hand around his throat, but the man only tightened his grip.
"Well?! What are you doing here boy?" the man growled in his ear.
Ste clenched his jaw. He was not going to say anything, even if it was the last thing he'd do.
The man clearly lost his patience, because the pressure on Ste's throat became even greater and Ste started to see black spots. He needed to free himself or he would end up like Gary.
He'd only a second to think before he hit the man right in the nuts with his foot. The man moaned and he loosened his grip on Ste's throat, just enough for Ste's to break out of it. He was breathing heavily and his throat hurt like crazy, but he had no time to think about that, because the man was coming towards Ste with a dangerous expression on his face. Ste looked swiftly around for something that could help him, but there was nothing there. Nothing more than a bed, a closet, and a table with some food and a few bottles.
Bottles.
But Before Ste had the time to do anything, he felt the fist of the man hit his face and he fell to the floor by the blow of the punch. He crawled back up and lashed out with his fist. His fist landed on the man's jaw and he heard a hard cracking noise. Ste stood still by the table with the food and the bottles. He waited for the man to come closer to him. He grabbed a bottle, with his back turned to the table. The rage was visible in the man's eyes a Ste could feel the well-known fear crawl to the surface. It brought him back to all the times Terry had hit him. All the times Brendan had hit him, he not knowing what he had done wrong or why they would hit him. All the times he couldn't fight back or was too afraid to do so. He had promised himself over and over again that it would be the last time he got punched by someone. But he was never able to keep his promise. They always seemed to hurt him even more that next time.
But not now, not anymore. He wouldn't just stand there and let somebody get away with him being punched, kicked or hit. This time he would fight back.
The glass made a breaking sound and it fell into pieces when it hit the man's head. His eyes turned upwards in his eye sockets and he fell to the ground, blood streaming out of a wound on his head.
Ste looked down at the man, his heart beating in his chest, his breathing heavily and his hands shaking.
The bottle fell out of his hand and it rolled to the side. He fell on his hands and knees when nausea came over him. He couched loudly and he swallowed to get rid of the dirty taste in his mouth. He looked slowly at the man, who was lying in front of him, lifeless.
He wouldn't...
Ste inhaled deeply to get rid of the nauseating feeling.
He slowly crawled towards the man.
Ste exhaled slowly when he realized the man was still breathing.
Thank God. He hadn't killed him.
No matter the situation he was in he didn't think he could live with himself if he'd killed this man. It made him sick to his stomach even thinking that he accidently could have killed him. The few moments he had thought the man was dead had given him the worst feelings he had ever experienced. He didn't know how Brendan could live with that.
Brendan.
He needed to find him and quickly, before even more persons would find out he was here. He looked down at the man again. He needed to find some way to make sure this man wouldn't wake up and tell everybody there was someone in this building.
He looked around the room and saw white sheets lying on the bed.
If he just ripped it into strips and tied the man with it...
Once he was done he looked around for a place to hide the man.
Ste walked to the closet and tried it, but it was locked.
Ste cursed under his breath. Seriously, was the whole world against him today?!
He walked back to the man and suddenly had another idea. He crouched down by the man and he quietly searched the man's pockets and found a bunch of keys.
Please for once let this work, Ste silently begged.
He walked back to the closet and tried one key after the other. Until he heard a click and the closet opened.
Ste almost wanted to do a little dance for something as stupid as opening a door, but he contained himself, knowing he needed to hurry. If what he had heard in that room was correct, they were going to transport Brendan to another place. In a van.
If he could find that van and somehow hide in there, maybe he could find a way to free Brendan. He just hoped that this plan would work. It was the best he could come up with.
But first he needed to get that man into the closet.
xXx
Ste left the room quickly after he'd checked the coast was clear. He ran down the corridor and turned a corner, walked through a door, slowly shuffled to the next corner and stood still. He was at the place Gary had been shot. The carpet was still drenched in blood. Ste's stomach turned around and he felt the guilt flow through his body. He put his forehead against the wall and he felt the tears sting in his eyes. He almost wanted to give into his sorrow when he suddenly heard footsteps. He looked up and he saw the door, which let towards the basement, getting opened. Ste pulled his head back. He heard voices and the slamming of a door.
"Come on, walk on. We don't have all day."
Ste heard a dark and low voice answer back, but he couldn't hear what he said.
"Still talking shit, are we. Well I have to give it to you. You're tougher then you look," drawled another voice, with a foreign accent.
Ste looked slowly around the corner to check who was there and his heart stopped for a moment before it started to pound even harder. He bit his tongue to stop himself from crying out.
Brendan.
It was Brendan.
Ste's heart fluttered and a wave of relieve came over him. He was alright. Brendan was still alive.
Ste quickly looked behind him to make sure that there was no one behind him before his eyes were drawn back to Brendan.
To realize he wasn't there anymore.
Panic came over Ste, before he noticed that Brendan was dragged along the corridor. The realism Brendan was dragged and not walking himself hit Ste, making his heart ache. How much pain did Brendan have to endure?
He waited until the two men and Brendan had disappeared through the door, before Ste ran after them and stopped when he reached the door. He looked around to the place where Gary had died, still with a feeling of guilt and sadness, took a deep breath of air and walked through the door. His eyes found Brendan in seconds. Ste rested his head against the wall, trying to hide in the shadows of the doorway and let his eyes wander over Brendan's body. Ste noticed the dried up blood on Brendan hands and it looked like he was limping with his right leg.
Ste bit hard on his lower lip and clenched his fists. He couldn't imagine the pain Brendan must be in right now. Then Brendan was out of sight again and Ste started to run.
He ran down corridors, halls and down stairs, checking every corner or door, waiting for Brendan and the two men to get out of his sight. He was almost caught again, but he could just hide behind a long curtain which hang before a large window. Then he ran further.
He was almost certain he had reached the ground floor when he ended at a T-junction. He looked to both sides, but there was no sign of Brendan or the two men. Ste gritted his teeth. He needed to guess, which way they went. He was pondering his options when he heard voices behind him. He decided to turn left and walked down it. He walked around a corner, only to realize the corridor was a dead end. The voices behind him became louder.
He tried the nearest door, but it was closed. "Of course," Ste muttered under his breath. He rummaged through his pocket for the keys he took from that man earlier and he tried it on the door. His hands started to shake when he tried key after key and not one of them seemed to fit. The voices came closer and closer and Ste was sure he would be caught this time. He was starting to sweat, making his hands clammy.
Then a key fitted and Ste flew inside. He closed the door behind him and took a few deep breaths. The strong scent of petrol filled his nose and a cool breeze touched his face. It was dark and he needed to blink his eyes rapidly to get a clearer view. When his eyes got used to the darkness he could look at his surroundings. He was at a garage. Ste looked around him, but he noticed he was all alone, there were no guards here. He started to walk and came across expensive cars and even a motorcycle, but he didn't stop until he found what he was looking for.
The van.
It was standing a bit away from the other cars and didn't look that expensive. It was just a white van. He walked around it and tried the door handle of the door of the back seats. It opened and Ste was just dubbing if he needed to get inside when he heard loud voices, which were carried towards him by the echo of the garage.
"Just get in the van and ride it outside."
Brendan!
They were gonna use this van to move Brendan, but he wouldn't let Brendan go alone. He would go with him.
Ste stepped into the van and tried to make no sound, closing the door. He didn't quite succeed, because he heard a man say: "Did ya hear that?"
Ste couldn't hear the reply, while he looked around the van for a hiding space. He sat down on his knees and he noticed there was just enough space for him to fit under the back seats. He found a blanket on the back seat and he pressed himself underneath the back seats, covering himself with the blanket.
xXx
Doug tripped, the fear making him clumsy. One of the two men at his side gripped him harshly by his arm and jerked him backwards, keeping him from falling. Doug cheeks turned red and he murmured a thanks. He supposed he didn't have much dignity left with the way he looked, unwashed an all, but it was still embarrassing.
They turned a corner and one of the men opened a door. Doug felt a cold breeze touch his warm cheeks. It was a welcome feeling after having been locked up for days, not seeing any daylight or getting any fresh air.
And now they were letting him go. He'd been shocked when they had told him this morning. At first he couldn't believe it, after having been locked up for days, barely getting any food or water, not really seeing anybody, it seemed illogical.
But he supposed it might make sense. They had who they wanted. Brendan. He was to no use to them.
And he'd finally found out their reasoning behind them thinking he was Brendan's boyfriend. Apparently one of the 'more close persons to their leader' had seen him hugging and touching Brendan the other day. At first Doug had thought them mad, he'd never touched Brendan like that. But when he'd thought about it, and he'd had an awful lot of time to think, it came back to him. He'd hugged Brendan to comfort him when Brendan had found out that Ste had gone missing. It was the only time they had ever hugged so they must have based it on that.
Which seemed pretty stupid, but Doug had captured quite a few words in the past few days. And he had come to his own conclusion. Apparently someone had betrayed them. Some guy called Gary. And this Gary apparently had had the task to keep an eye on Brendan and his boyfriend. Everything had almost gone wrong, because of his betrayal, but thanks to the amazing Jeremy it had all worked out in the end.
Except that it hadn't cause they had taken the wrong guy, but there was no one who believed him.
Doug sighed. He now wondered if Ste's disappearance had anything to do with Gary's betrayal. But he could only guess. He just had to hope that Ste was save.
And he himself would be save again too, he would be free again. Away from this endless nightmare. After all those sleepless nights filled with fear he finally had a reason to feel hope again.
And it made him feel horribly guilty. Doug knew that there was not much he could do, not in the state he was in. But those men would kill Brendan. Brendan and he had never really gotten along, at one point he even hated him, but Doug didn't wish him dead. He once might have, but he knew better now.
Doug looked up from his feet when he was grabbed by his arm again and put to a halt. In front of him was a white van. And when he looked sideways to his escorts he could see that they expected him to do something, probably climb into it.
"Just get in the van and ride it outside," the man, who had kept him from falling earlier, said.
"Where am I supposed to go?" Doug asked slowly, clearing his throat, it was dry and raspy from barely being used for days and it was almost painful to talk.
The man shrugged. "Go home, go to your family. I don't really care. You can even go to the police if you'll like. Just know that we'll be long gone when they get here. And I won't recommend it cause if we found you once. We can do it again. "
Doug shivered at the threat. All he knew was that he wanted to get out of here as soon as possible. What he would do after that was of later concern.
"Did ya hear that"? the other man said suddenly.
The man who had talked to Doug looked up and shrugged his shoulders: "Probably a rat or something."
Doug didn't really pay attention to what the man said to each other. He tried to get his head around the fact they were just going to let him go. "So that's it? You're just gonna let me go like that?"
The man returned his attention back to Doug and frowned slightly, a strange glance in his eyes. "I guess you just got lucky kid."
Doug blinked. It sounded so simple. "And what about Brendan?"
The man sighed, almost with pity. "Just forget about him. You will never see him again."
Doug cringed. The man's words were no surprise, he had not expected anything else, but it was a different thing to think it than to hear it out loud.
"So go on then. Go." The man gave him a light push at his back. "When the doors open. You just drive through them, over the driveway and once you're past the gates you're a free man again."
Doug took one deep breathe and took a step forward.
"Oh before I forget-"
Doug turned around, anxious it had all been a big joke and he wouldn't be allowed to leave after all.
"You'll need these." The man held out the keys of the van.
Doug took them with a little nod of his head. "Thanks." He glanced back at the van and opened the door of the driver's seat with trembling hands. He stepped in and sat down, his whole body shaking in fear and relieve. It was really happening. He let his hands rest on the wheel. He could almost taste the freedom on his tongue. In a strange way it scared him to death. He put the key in the contact and started the engine.
He heard some noise and it took a moment for him to realize that it was the sound of the garage door going up. Doug's breathing got louder and louder the more he got to see of the outside world. He was so close to freedom. So close. When the door was all the way up Doug had to blink rapidly with his eyes to make out anything at all, the sunlight being that bright. He hadn't realized it was morning already. Although it couldn't be that late. Maybe it was around seven.
The man who had talked to him earlier lifted up his thumb and Doug took that as an indication that he could drive outside. He trapped in the gas and slowly drove out of the garage.
He felt a big relieve in his chest and he breathed in deeply. He would get out of here. He would be free again.
His foot hit the brakes hard when he felt a tentative hand on his shoulder and he heard a very familiar voice whisper his name.
xXx
Ste crashed into the back of Doug's chair when his ex-boyfriend hit the brakes and the air was pressed out of his lungs. He'd been hiding the whole time, waiting for Brendan to come. But he hadn't come. Instead he'd suddenly heard a voice he hadn't expected to hear in a million years. Doug's.
When he'd realized that this was not the van where they were going to transport Brendan with, it had already been too late. He'd had no choice, but stay and wait for Doug to start driving.
What he hadn't expected was for Doug to freak out and hit the brakes the way he had.
Ste rubbed a sore spot on his head and looked up.
Doug had already turned around in his chair and stared at Ste, his eyes bigger than Ste had ever seen them. "Sssttteee…" Doug stammered. "How did you…When?… I thought-"
"For god's sake Doug. Just drive!" Ste hissed. "Get the hell out of here!"
Doug just stared at him in complete shock, he seemed unable to move. "What are you doing here?" he mumbled weakly.
"Believe me, I'm wondering the same thing about you, but that's of later concern. Just get out of here before they notice there's anything wrong!"
Doug still didn't move, he just blinked his eyes like he couldn't comprehend what was happening.
"Fucking hell," Ste cursed. He grabbed Doug by his arm and harshly pulled him out of the driver's seat. Doug almost fell out of the chair, but he finally seemed to realize what Ste wanted cause he moved aside. He dug behind the driver's seat, where Ste had been only seconds ago, so Ste could climb into the driver's seat. Doug was at least bright enough to understand that it would be very suspicious if the guards saw that there were suddenly two people in the van.
Two men were already coming his way, still a few feet away, probably too far away to have seen Doug and him switch seats, or at least he hoped so. They were yelling things at him, but Ste couldn't quite understand what they were saying.
Ste knew he couldn't let them get any closer or they would see there was somebody else behind the wheel. If Doug and he hadn't looked so alike they would probably have been caught out already. For the first time Ste was actually glad that he looked a lot like Doug.
Before Ste could think about the consequences he trapped in the gas and started to drive again. The men moved quickly out of the way and let him pass.
Ste let out a relieved sigh. He would get Doug out of here alive.
And then Ste caught a glance of him and all thoughts left his mind.
Brendan.
He was right there, standing between two men, watching the van. He was covered in blood and bruises and he must be in a lot of pain, but he still held his head high, an unreadable, almost bored, expression covering his face. Ste's vision immediately got blurred with tears as he'd passed Brendan before he could even blink his eyes.
But his brain had registered one thing. Brendan had seen him. And for that small second, that small moment in which their eyes had connected, Brendan's expression had changed. His almost deadly eyes had suddenly shone with emotion. An emotion too deep to express into words or even thoughts, but there was no need cause Ste knew without knowing the words what it meant. And he knew that the exact same look, the same emotions, had been in his eyes. And Brendan had seen them.
If Ste would've been able to, he would've smiled, but Doug's shriek brought him back. "Ste look out!"
Ste turned the wheel just in time and the van just missed a tree which was standing on the right side of the road. The branches scraped the side of the van with a lot of noise and presumably left deep scratches on the vehicle.
Ste let go of his bated breath while Doug climbed into the passenger seat. There were no windows at the back of the van so no one could see him now. Doug gave Ste an anxious, but relieved grin. "I almost thought you were gonna kill us there."
Ste smiled back, but it didn't reach his eyes. All he could think of was Brendan and the way he'd looked. So much blood. Ste tightened his grip on the wheel and trapped in the gas while the van almost reached the fence at the end the terrain.
Next to him he could almost hear Doug grin. "You made it," he said, his voice relieved. "We're save!"
xXx
The fresh air was like a slap in his face. He could feel that the summer was changing into autumn. It was cold outside and some of the leaves were whirling in the wind. They'd already lost their bright green colors. The sky was a clear blue and the sun was just rising, the sunlight shining through the trees.
But the wind was cold and strong, it tugged at his clothes and made him shiver.
Brendan looked around and asked himself how the world could look so beautiful, but be so cold and heartless at the same time.
Since the moment they had taken him out of his cell, he couldn't think about anything else, but what they were going to do with Steven. He couldn't really believe they would just let him go, but on the other hand, they had what they wanted; him.
At that moment a door, which seemed like a garage door, was opened and a white van drove out of it. Brendan struggled against the arms which were holding him, but they held him too tightly.
"Take it easy, mate," a man, Brendan thought he was called Ed, lisped.
"I'm not your mate," Brendan growled back.
Ed just wanted to say something in return when the van suddenly stopped moving. Two of the men surrounding Brendan started to walk towards the van, yelling loudly. Three men also emerged from the garage and started running towards the van with guns in their hands.
Brendan could clearly hear them scream: "Drive! Drive! Drive for God's sake!"
It seemed to take a lifetime and the men only came closer to the van, but then the van started moving again and that's when Brendan saw him.
Steven.
Steven sitting in the driver's seat.
And he looked back at him.
It was only a second, but it was all that he needed. Without words Brendan was able to understand what Ste wanted him to know. He could see the tears well up in Steven's eyes, before Steven disappeared out of sight.
Brendan felt some kind of relieve flowing through him. They were really letting him go. Maybe, just maybe these people weren't as heartless after all.
Brendan watched as the van drove his way to the end of the driveway. His heart almost stopped when the van almost hit a tree, but it just missed it. He let go of his breath while his eyes didn't leave the van for a moment. The van reached the end of the driveway and passed the fence onto the ordinary road. Just a few more feet and the van would be out of sight, just a few more feet and Steven would be free, save.
He was just breathing in deeply when he heard it. Brendan could only describe the sound as a volcano erupting.
Except that it wasn't a volcano.
It was something far worse.
At the very end of the driveway was an explosion, a huge ball of fire and smoke erupting out of the van.
His heart froze and his eyes widened as he could do nothing but watch as the van was ripped apart. The earth shook under Brendan's feet and the powerful bang rumbled through his head. The sound was deafening. Pieces of the van flew through the air and the fire released a lot of smoke, making his eyes burn even from this distance.
A terrible truth started to form in Brendan's head. No one could survive that.